PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs.

JAVIER MORILLA Y
AVELLANO, Accused-Appellant.
G.R. No. 189833 February 5, 2014
PEREZ, J.:

Note: The accused was charged under R.A. 6425 (The Dangerous Drugs Act of
1972) and not R.A. 9165 (2002).

FACTS:
The criminal information is as follows: Morilla, Mitra (Mayor of Quezon Province),
Yang and Dequilla, who all belong to an organized/syndicate crime group as they
all help one another, for purposes of gain in the transport of illegal drugs, and in
fact, conspiring and confederating together and mutually aiding and abetting one
another, did then and there wilfully and feloniously transport by means of two (2)
motor vehicles, namely a Starex van with commemorative plate to read "Mayor"
and a municipal ambulance of Quezon Province, shabu.

The ruling of conspiracy between Mayor Mitra and Morilla in the trial court was
based on the testimonies of the four accused themselves. It was that the two
vehicles, the Starex van driven by Mayor Mitra and the ambulance van driven by
Morilla, left Infanta, Quezon en route to Manila. The Starex van which was ahead
of the ambulance was able to pass the checkpoint set up by the police officers.
However, the ambulance driven by Morilla was stopped by police officers.
Through the untinted window, one of the police officers noticed several sacks
inside the van. Upon inquiry of the contents, Morilla replied that the sacks
contained narra wooden tiles.

Unconvinced, the police officers requested Morilla to open the rear door of the
car for further inspection. When it was opened, the operatives noticed that white
crystalline granules were scattered on the floor, prompting them to request
Morilla to open the sacks. At this moment, Morilla told the police officers that he
was with Mayor Mitra in an attempt to persuade them to let him pass. His request
was rejected by the police officers and upon inspection, the contents of the sacks
turned out to be sacks of shabu. This discovery prompted the operatives to chase
the Starex van of Mayor Mitra. They then inquired if the mayor knew Morilla. On
plain view, the operatives noticed that his van was also loaded with sacks like the
ones found in the ambulance. Thus, Mayor Mitra was also requested to open the
door of the vehicle for inspection. At this instance, Mayor Mitra offered to settle
the matter but the same was rejected.

ISSUE:
Whether the accused may be convicted for conspiracy to commit the offense of
illegal transport of shabu
RULING:
A conspiracy exists when two or more persons come to an agreement
concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it. To determine
conspiracy, there must be a common design to commit a felony.

Morilla argues that the mere act of driving the ambulance on the date he was
apprehended is not sufficient to prove that he was part of a syndicated group
involved in the illegal transportation of dangerous drugs. This argument is
misplaced.

In conspiracy, it need not be shown that the parties actually came together and
agreed in express terms to enter into and pursue a common design. The assent
of the minds may be and, from the secrecy of the crime, usually inferred from
proof of facts and circumstances which, taken together, indicate that they are
parts of some complete whole. In this case, the totality of the factual
circumstances leads to a conclusion that Morilla conspired with Mayor Mitra in a
common desire to transport the dangerous drugs. Both vehicles loaded with
several sacks of dangerous drugs, were on convoy from Quezon to Manila.
Mayor Mitra was able to drive through the checkpoint set up by the police
operatives. When it was Morillas turn to pass through the checkpoint, he was
requested to open the rear door for a routinary check. Noticing white granules
scattered on the floor, the police officers requested Morilla to open the sacks. If
indeed he was not involved in conspiracy with Mayor Mitra, he would not have
told the police officers that he was with the mayor.

His insistence that he was without any knowledge of the contents of the sacks
and he just obeyed the instruction of his immediate superior Mayor Mitra in
driving the said vehicle likewise bears no merit.

Here, Morilla and Mayor Mitra were caught in flagrante delicto in the act of
transporting the dangerous drugs on board their vehicles. "Transport" as used
under the Dangerous Drugs Act means "to carry or convey from one place to
another." It was well established during trial that Morilla was driving the
ambulance following the lead of Mayor Mitra, who was driving a Starex van going
to Manila. The very act of transporting methamphetamine hydrochloride is malum
prohibitum since it is punished as an offense under a special law. The fact of
transportation of the sacks containing dangerous drugs need not be
accompanied by proof of criminal intent, motive or knowledge.